


Diabolical

by ukulele_jazz



Category: Herbert West - Reanimator - H. P. Lovecraft, Re-Animator (Movies)
Genre: Blood and Gore, Gore, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Mild Sexual Content, Self-Indulgent, herbert likes knives
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:54:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26683273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ukulele_jazz/pseuds/ukulele_jazz
Summary: Herbert West is a serial killer, and the only person who knows this is his partner Daniel Cain.
Relationships: Daniel Cain & Megan Halsey & Herbert West, Daniel Cain/Herbert West
Comments: 5
Kudos: 20





	1. A Busy Schedule

**Author's Note:**

> This is a very self-indulgent fic (as all of mine are). Please enjoy, constructive criticism is appreciated.

“You’re disillusioned,” Herbert West said on a sharp intake of breath. “And disgusting, and wrong, dammit.” He looked into the mirror. Scraggly hair fell over his unkempt features, a pale face that seemed even paler in the overbearing light of the bathroom. West’s glasses sat crooked on his face and his lips pursed in a frown as he examined himself. 

It had been one week since West’s last “outing”, and he was itching for more excitement. This excitement came at a high price, but West always reasoned himself out of the guilt it may have temporarily brought him. But this night was different. The wind blew through the open window, and it seemed to call out West’s name, the night air was begging him to change. Maybe not all humans were filth as he presumed them to be, or perhaps Herbert West was just as bad as all the rest. He could be wrong. What if all this was wrong? 

A strong gust of wind bellowed from the sky; it roared like a hungry beast in West’s ears. Somebody must feed it, he reasoned. There was no turning back; he was too far gone. 

West opened the medicine cabinet above the sink and pulled out a vial of liquid, glowing a sick, phosphorus green. Hypodermic in hand, he filled the syringe and injected it with a carefully practised precision. A wave of pleasure engulfed West’s being in waves as the serum coursed through his system. As the aftershocks passed, he stood up and the frown he adorned before moulded into determination. It was time to work. 

It was four o’clock in the morning, and Herbert West was wide awake. He had flicked on the light in the kitchen, and shadows danced along the walls amongst the fluorescent glow. West prepared a cup of coffee when the sound of footsteps aroused his senses. Dan Cain walked into the room wearing scrubs and hurrying to the coffee pot. 

“Morning, Herb,” Cain said, but the casualty in his voice contrasted his rushed demeanour. 

“Good morning, Dan,” Herbert replied, taking a sip of coffee. Black, two ounces of cream. 

“I’m off to do my rounds,” Cain told West, stirring in the creamer.”I’ll be back around five.”

“All right,” West said. “I’ll see you then.” Cain placed a quick peck on Hebert’s cheek and left, spilling some coffee out of the thermos as he ran out the door. West rubbed the spot on his cheek. Their romantic relationship had begun about nine months ago, only a few months before West began exploring his...excentricities. It was rarely physical; intimacy wasn’t something Herbert was overly fond of, even with Dan. It wasn’t a bother for either of them, considering the busy schedules, but lately West had been longing for some more affection. He wasn’t sure why. He tried to reason it was because of the serum he had been using less and less, on word from Dan, but the reality was West hadn’t been out and about “working” as much as he would have liked. 

It was true, he had been up all night with his studies, but that was busywork. The only reason West used the serum was to keep him focused. It keeps the brain sharp. But he couldn’t help from becoming distracted. It felt like Herbert’s mind was running away, and he couldn’t catch up. ‘Like a dog chasing its tail,’ he thought bitterly. 

With Dan away for the day, West decided it was time to give in and release all that bottled up tension, that emotion he had locked up. He went into his room, kept up nicely except for a small fridge with various specimens Dan didn’t know were there. In a bottom desk drawer, West had something else stowed away. Herbert took out a set of knives, all of the various sizes crafted just so that they had the sharpest edge. The cleanest cut. 

Aside from Dan, Herbert West considered these knives his only friends. It was a dreadful idea, but nothing else came so close physically to him, nothing had such a strong emotional attachment. West held them close and then began packing his things. 

Herbert was never very particular with specimens, so that day he decided to scope out a local cafe. A woman agreed to go home with him, surprisingly easy, but West knew how to turn on the charm. Once he had her, it was so easy just to drag that blade against her neck. The way the blood came out in spurts after the first streak was played into her skin was something Herbert found mesmerisingly beautiful. He then set about separating the limbs carefully and tucking everything away. Some parts West would experiment on, maybe re-animate. Others he would throw out. There were many things to do with a ready corpse. 

Dan came home a bit late, but that was fine because it gave Herbert time to clean up and prepare dinner. West didn’t like the idea of becoming a stereotypical housewife, but he did enjoy cooking. There was something luxurious and pleasing about creating something for others to enjoy. 

“Sorry, I’m late,” Dan said, sitting down for dinner. 

“Oh, it’s no problem,” West told him. “I had to finish up a few things, anyway.”

Cain shot him a curious glance but said nothing. 

“So,” Dan began, “what’s on the menu tonight?”

Herbert’s lips turned up ever so slightly. 

“Oh, just some roast lamb.”


	2. The Body of Mary Ann Kay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What do you do when you find out your best friend is a murderer?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. Happy spooktober!

It was so quiet, Herbert West recalled, that one might hear the rattling of chilled bones beneath the gravestones of Hemmington Cemetary. The air was dank and cold; fog rolled in like a blanket, swaddling West like a babe. The glow of an oil lantern provided the only light when out of sight of the road and street lamps. Behind Herbert stood Dan Cain. He was tall and athletic by comparison, with a slim torso and large round eyes that were hushed circles in the darkness. Cain carried two shovels and a large, black body bag he had snuck out of Miskatonic University. He dragged them slowly, always checking over his shoulder to make sure no one else was aware of their activity. 

“Hurry up,” Dan said under his breath. It came out in wisps of vapour which curled at the ends like a serpent’s tail. 

  
West said nothing and instead stood still at a grave and analysed the engraved writing on the stone. 

“Born May first nineteen sixty-three,” he read aloud. “Died January 20th 1985.”

Herbert turned around to look at Dan, his small frame illuminated by the light of the candle. 

“This one’s fresh.”

Dan peered over West’s shoulder. The name on the top of the gravestone read Mary Anne Kay. She was about the same age as Dan, give or take a few months. A chill ran down his spine. Cain couldn’t tell if it was from the brisk night air or something more sinister. Herbert had already begun digging. 

“Give me a hand, will you?” He more or less commanded, thrusting the shovel deep into the sod, breaking it away from the ground. Despite his short stature, West was swift and efficient. It was almost as though he had done the same activity hundreds of times before. 

Without a word, Dan joined him, and finally, they managed to unearth the sizeable wooden box buried six feet under. 

Herbert threw it open. He was right; it was fresh, fresher than most of their other specimens. Dan began examining the body and noted that the apparent cause of death was asphyxiation by strangulation. Petechial haemorrhaging shot threw her eyes, still visible even through the cloudly film brought on by death. 

Dan carefully lifted Mary from the box, the frills of the dress she had been buried in tickled the sides of his arms. He slid her into the body bag and zipped it up whilst Herbert began pushing the coffin back into the ground. Dan helped him recover the box, and they headed back into the night. 

* * *

“Re-animation after fifteen seconds,” West spoke into the microcassette; his voice was excited, but his body was stiff. 

It was ten minutes past two in the morning, and Dan Cain huddled freezing over the re-animated corpse of Mary Ann Kay. 

First, her fingers began to twitch, then her eyelids fluttered, and finally, she lifted off of the table. Snaps could be heard as the body defied rigour Mortis and worked against the natural mechanism of death to stand. Cain and West had worked hard to perfect a serum which allowed for reanimation of corpses that were not as fresh as when they had just died. The problem before was that the serum only revived the senses and instincts, but now it kickstarted the whole brain into action. Mary first turned toward Dan and then whipped around to look at West, who smiled as he approached her. 

“Mary,” he began, “welcome back to life.” 

First, Mary starred blankly at West, then her features moulded into a rage. But it wasn’t the kind of blind anger that bubbled up in the older, rotten corpses, it was one of recognition. 

“You,” she snarled, and then hurled herself toward West. Caught off guard, Herbert did his best to shield himself from the onslaught of fingernails and teeth. 

“It was you!” she said. “You killed me, you bastard!”

Mary slashed relentlessly at West’s face, screaming and hurling insults. Her breath reeked of death, the kind of putrid smell that happens after the rot sets in. Herbert tried to push her off of him, but he forgot how incredibly strong the reanimated corpses could be. Suddenly, the body was pulled away and an ear-piercing shot echoed off the basement walls. Mary’s body slumped to the ground. Dan Cain stood high above West, unmoving. 

“Dan, thank you,” Herbert said. “She would have ripped me apart had you not-”

“You killed her,” Dan cut him off. 

“What?” Herbert asked. 

“You killed her. Why?”

West contemplated his next move. 

“We needed fresher specimens,” he said finally. 

“Christ, Herbert, we could have always gone back to the morgue,” Dan said, head in his hands. 

“No, it’s too risky,” West told him. “Besides, she recognised me. That means we can continue working on older specimens like her.”

“And you can continue killing people?” Dan asked. His eyes weren’t angry, they weren’t scared. They were sad. 

“Daniel,” Herbert began. “We need to perfect this serum, it could change the course of history. You can save people. Patients, friends, family.”

He paused for a moment.

“Please,” West continued. “I need you.”

“Okay,” Dan said quietly after some time. Then without another word, retreated back upstairs. Hebert knelt down next to the twice dead corpse of Mary Ann. 

“Such a shame,” He mumbled. “Guess I’ll have to work harder on those disguises.” 


End file.
